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FL>North FL>March or April 2014>Bike Tour

I've been meaning to do a bicycle tour of northern Florida for a year or so now, and I think I'll throw it out there for folks to chip in if they want to join.

Right now, I'm planning on a week to a week and an half in March or April of 2014, covering at least a coast-to-coast tour (from one coast of FL to the other), starting in St. Augustine and ending in Cedar Key. I'm thinking of hitting some of the springs as overnight side trips along the way, but that might be a little ambitious for some folks. There's also a lot of beautiful horse country near that route; I may work some of that in as day trips as well.

I figure on covering about thirty to fifty miles a day (fairly flat terrain; none of FL is particularly mountainous) on average, for an easy-going pace, with various stops along the way in small towns and sites of interest. Most of the touring will be along roads, so safety is a must (smart people ride single file, to keep their numbers[/AlecGuinnessVoice]), but amenities will be plentiful and easily available most of the way.

The majority of the overnight stays will likely be at wilderness management areas (free, but includes few amenities; bring your own water treatment method and cat hole trowel), with a couple of stops at either state parks (if the pilot program going on now convinces the state that allowing LNT hammockers is a good idea; requires a fee, but has amenities), developed private campgrounds (near a few of the springs; again, requires a fee and has amenities), or hotels/B&Bs (if the group desires, probably at the beginning and/or end of the trip).

Everything is still pretty nebulous right now, and I'm open to ideas for the trip if anyone has some. More information will be forthcoming as the date approaches (I'm going to try and time this so that it falls during the same week as my wife's Spring Break, and the dates for next year's school calendar haven't been released yet); I just wanted to get this out there in case anyone else might be interested.

I can't believe I'm saying this but I might be interested in joining you at the start in St. A. My backside probably can't take much, though. :-)

Can't believe it, either. But...I would love to have you along, JaxHiker! For sure, the St. Augustine time will be the easiest portion of the journey.

Day 0 (the day before departure), Mrs. FLRider and I will likely be in St. Augustine to do the usual touristy stuff: getting a pint downtown, touring the fort, going to the beach, all of that jazz.

Day 1 is just ~40 miles, all of it on the flat, in the preliminary plan. It's not the shortest day by any means, but it's the easiest terrain for sure. If enough folks want to do a shorter day, we could instead do a shortie ~10 mile day to Moses Creek Conservation Area. It'd give folks a day to shake down gear and get back into the saddle, while still allowing for time in town if folks want that.

I'm currently working on a preliminary coast to coast route. Hopefully, I'll have it up today. If not, well, we've got a bit of time...

I'd have to see if I can borrow/rig up some kind of panniers. I don't think I could stand riding my old mountain bike with a pack on. The Jacksonville section might be doable for me on a long weekend or so. Maybe I need to look into some new tires.....

Sounds awesome! I might be interested if things work out job wise for me. At the very least I could meet with you all that day on St George street area until time to go. I would prefer to be able to go but to meet with some local hangers would be great.

Thanks for the offer! I figure on packing everything I need on the bike, but others are more'n welcome to come along via vehicle if they want to join up for a night or two along the route.

Originally Posted by JaxHiker

If we start at the fort you can pick me up at the Alligator Farm...if I make it that far.

I figure on starting at Anastasia, since the traffic in downtown is...difficult. Still, starting at the fort probably wouldn't be too hard; after all, it's ~500 yards to the bridge and then another ~200 yards to the first bike lane. Not too bad...and it sure is a landmark.

Originally Posted by zukiguy

I'd have to see if I can borrow/rig up some kind of panniers. I don't think I could stand riding my old mountain bike with a pack on. The Jacksonville section might be doable for me on a long weekend or so. Maybe I need to look into some new tires.....

Tires shouldn't be too hard. I will say that carrying a pair of spare tubes and a pump is probably not a bad idea riding the roads here in north FL; I usually get a flat every ~250 miles or so from tire wire along the side of the road.

I might be able to put something together for you as far as cargo goes, zukiguy. DIY rackless soft-side panniers don't look too hard to make, especially handlebar and seat bags. I'll be in touch...

Originally Posted by Robcp1981

Sounds awesome! I might be interested if things work out job wise for me. At the very least I could meet with you all that day on St George street area until time to go. I would prefer to be able to go but to meet with some local hangers would be great.

That'd be great! Even if it's just for a day on the town, I'd love to meet up. Keep an eye on this section of the trip planning forum; there're a couple of hangs that should be coming up soon within easy driving distance of St. Augustine.

Preliminary Route Planning

Alright...got a preliminary route for the coast-to-coast. This one assumes a four-day trip (I'm keeping my options open for side trips) and that the state park system is going to allow hammocks next year. Link to map route is located here. Some of the distances (particularly day one and two) are a little off. Google maps doesn't like the routes I pick when I use their bike directions and won't let me put the driving directions on the rails-to-trails systems that I'll likely be following on those two days.

Day one starts in St. Augustine, at Anastasia State Park, for convenience. Assuming that the FL state park system allows hammocking next year, this is a good meet-up spot. On the beach, near A1A (which has a bike lane the whole way down to SR 206), it is also convenient to downtown St. Augustine and several beachfront hotels (should anyone want to stay there). Day one ends at Rice Creek Conservation Area, approximately forty miles into the trip. Rice Creek has a water pump and shelter, and is about a mile hike in from the parking lot (perfect for stretching those legs after a long day on the bike). The terrain during this day is fairly flat, with long stretches of beautiful wilderness (mostly coastal tidal swamps and cypress swamps). About twelve to thirteen miles is spent in metropolitan areas, with the rest being open highway.

Day two starts at Rice Creek and continues on to the Longleaf Flatwoods Reserve, just southeast of Gainesville. This day is approximately 44 miles, approximately 2/3rds of it on road beds, with the remaining third on rail-trails. The Longleaf Flatwoods Reserve has a water pump and is approximately an half-mile in from the road.

Day three starts at the Longleaf Flatwoods Reserve and heads south to Payne's Prairie State Park, which has showers and electricity available (though we could go to the primitive site, if everyone wanted). It'll be a short day, approximately 12 miles, most of it on back roads with very light traffic--however, these roads do not have much in the way of a shoulder, so extra caution is required on this day. There are showers at Payne's Prairie, and it's located in the very beautiful town of Micanopy, with several kitchy restaurants and stores within easy biking distance. This day is deliberately short to give our legs a chance to rest before pushing on to the last day.

Day four starts at Payne's Prairie and heads out to Cedar Key. This is the longest day of the initial route planning and will require some water and food stop planning before we leave the Gainesville metropolitan area. It's about 65 miles and will consume the majority of the day for the ride.

So, that's the initial plan so far. I'm welcome to ideas for side trips...so far, I'm thinking about heading up to Ichetucknee Springs on the third or fourth day and possibly Fanning Springs on the fourth or fifth day, if we decide to extend the trip significantly. There's also the possibility of heading south from Payne's Prairie to Juniper Springs, but that would be a ~55 mile day (or ~110 miles round trip over two or three days) that wouldn't work too well at looping back to the initial route. Still, it's worth considering...